~~~~
"Where are we going?" I ask Thomas. Since he was driving slowly, at a dwindling pace along the road, I turned, leaning against the door so that I could see him, both our faces only illuminated by the passing streetlamps.
"Somewhere," He murmurs, glancing at me and reaching out, slipping his hand through mine. I rest my forearm on my bare knee, stretching my arm out so that he could lace our fingers. "Somewhere special."
"Like what?" I ask again.
"Can't it just be a surprise?" He glances at me, a small chuckle falling past his lips.
I sigh. "Fine," I say dramatically.
He grins, looking at the road again. "Although I admire your curiosity, love, I really do want to keep this one a surprise."
"You said it's somewhere special, right?" I ask. "Meaning we both have memories there."
He closes his eyes. "Don't press. It's a surprise, alright?"
"Fine." I sigh again. "God, Tommy, you really know how to wean a girl out."
He laughs. "What does that even mean?"
"No idea," I grin. "Read it for an essay, and now it won't get out of my head. You know, the essay you pulled me out of?"
He smiles, pausing at a signal to turn. I settle my head against the window, watching the empty road and the pedestrian sign turn from red to green. "I know, I thought you might need a break." Thomas glances at me. "I like this light on you," He says with a smile that could only be described as fond.
I pose, grinning at him. He laughs, turning and pulling up at a dirt road that was all too familiar. "The boardwalk," I smile. "So this was your surprise."
"Yup," he nods. "Walks under the moonlight where we first met. Stargazing optional."
For a second, I just look at him. Watch his intensity (read: beauty) as he pulled up in a parking, pulled the gear, and undid the seatbelt that crossed over his partially-bared chest. He looks over to me, a small smile on his face. "Shall we?"
"God, yes," I sputter, "Of course."
He grins, turning the engine off before stepping out of the car, walking around to the front as I stepped out. He extends an arm towards me, just as he had on our first date, and I cover my face to cool it down slightly. "God."
His grin all but widens. "You're so flustered right now, (y/n), is it bad that I wanna laugh?"
"Yes - no," I say, nodding before shaking my head, taking his arm. "You can do literally anything you want right now. This will automatically make up for it."
He chuckles, tugging me with him into a walk. "Remember that one date here?" He asks after a moment. "You know, the one where I spilled wine all over your white dress, and it looked like you'd come from a murder."
I smile at the memory. "Yeah, the one where I threw your favorite shirt off the balcony when we got home, then in the middle of the night went out to pick it up again."
"Then tripped over my shoes." He finishes, laughing.
"And then there was also that one time where we came here after an argument, and ended up telling each other we loved each other." I think back to that one stormy-turned-sunny day.
"That one sucked in the beginning, but it's still one of my favorites." He nods.
"Then that one time where you sang a song for me but stopped halfway because there was a crab in your guitar," I laugh.
He grins down at me, wrapping an arm around my waist and resting his chin on my head as we walked. "That one was funny."
"I love this," I murmur as we approach the end of the walk. "I love you, and I love this. Walking down memory lane, this whole thing - I love it."
"I want it to stay like this forever," he hums from above me. "It should stay like this. We work so great together."
I pull away from him as we reach the end of the boardwalk, sitting down so that my legs dangled above the water. He sits next to me, one of his knees bent as he leans back on his hands.
We're both silent for a moment, before he reaches behind him, grabbing something and then turning back around, scooting closer to me. "(y/n) (y/l/n)," he starts.
"Yeah?" I ask when he pauses.
He tugs one of my hands to him, looking at me. "I promise you that I will be here forever. This is how it's supposed to be, me and you, and I won't leave. We can do whatever we want - till the sun comes up, and forever after, we can own this town, and it could be something out of a movie. We work together so well, and this - this is how it's supposed to be."
"I--" I begin, but he shushes me.
"Wait, let me finish. You know how I took my time to get here, and how we both left work at home to come live out a dream here. I want it to be like that anytime we need this kind of break from the world, and I want to be with you for as long as I'm around."
"What're you doing, Thomas?" I ask, paling slightly. Sure, I was melting at his words, but if this was going where I think it was going, I'm not ready - in any way - for that.
"I know pulling out a ring would freak you out, so I'm not going to do that." I let out an imperceptible sigh of relief. "But here's how I'm keeping my promise to you right now." He spreads my hand out, before pressing a small seashell into it. It takes me a second to realize that it was connected to a chain - a necklace. "Long as you have this, I'm yours."
I bite the inside of my lip. "Oh my god, it's beautiful."
He laughs. "Yeah, I know. Reminded me of this place the second I saw it."
I look at it in awe, before leaning forwards slightly, and placing it around my neck.
"Thank you for this, Tom," I murmur, reaching back and squeezing his hand. "I love it."
"Which part?"
"All of it. The drive, the promise, the necklace, everything. Every single part."
He smiles. "Anytime - we've got all the time in the world now."
~~~~
